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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Gareth Richman, Harriet Brewis

80 days later: Striking photos show how UK streets have changed since lockdown first began

These arresting images give a taste of how life in the UK has changed since the coronavirus lockdown began almost three months ago.

Taken from the exact same spots, at the exact same time of day, they compare how the country looked one month in with how it looks today.

On April 24 – 30 days after Boris Johnson told the nation to “stay at home” – once-bustling streets and roads transformed into barren stretches of stone and tarmac.

Now, 50 days on – or 80 days since that fateful announcement – signs of a return to normality are beginning to emerge.

London's Waterloo Station pictured on April 24 (PA)

One April photo shows London’s Waterloo Station transformed into a ghost town, with just a handful of visible figures.

But on June 11, more movement can be seen, as commuters return to work.

Motorits are returning to the roads as more businesses reopen and people head back to work (PA)

In another shot, the M5 motorway is nearly deserted under the blue Spring skies.

But 50 days later, a modest trickle of cars and trucks has returned – even if the sunshine has not.

The comparisons come just days before England enters its next major phase of the Government’s Covid-19 “road map”.

From Monday, non-essential shops, zoos and safari parks, will begin to shake off the shackles of lockdown, as more and more Brits attempt to resume something vaguely resembling normal life.

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